Waterbury evening Democrat., 1887-12-09
CRIPPLED CHILDREN.
LITTLE ONES WITH MERRY HEARTS
 AND WITHERED LIMBS.

Sunshine and Shadow, Mirth and Pathos
 in a Hospital for Unfortunate Children.
 How They Forget Pain in Play-scenes
 in the Wards.
 Only crippled newsboy, swinging himself along with the aid of crutch. Ahl It's hard lines for such ladI But there is a place in this city where there are scores of such children even more helpless than he. It is the Crippled Children's hospital on Forty second street.
 They look bright and happy enough at first glance, as you see them at play in the big hall at the top of the building, with its four As they swing high in the air in high backed chairs suspended from strong ropes or play hide and seek around the pillars, in the depths of the big windows and behind the screens. And they are very happy and bright when, for awhile, they forget their pain and quivering nerves. and shout with laughter quite as gleeful as if many of the little heads and crooked backs were not bound up in hideous iron frames. And they drudge around the room after runaway ball with as much zest as though the halting, tedious step and clanking braces did not hold them back at every turn.
 Hark! What rumblel Look down to the end of the hall. There is great chatter ing going on, and out from the crowd fly half dozen tricycles abreast, each manned by girl of ten or whereabouts. With swiftly working feet and hands and shining eyes they roll down the long hall side by side. Evidently they are running a race At the further end they wheel round and roll back again more slowly, guiding with dex- terity their wheels through the score or more of advancing riders who had followed in their wake
 PAIN AFTER PLEASURE.
 All is not play, however, much as they enjoy it, and pretty soon some pale faced girl draws out to the side, and unfastening the straps that hold her foot in the step, she raises it on her knee and chafes it with her hands, whilc she means with pain.
 Every afternoon the children come up here, and the paralyzed and lame remove one or both shoes and go through these exercises to strengthen their diseased limbs It is all done under the eye of a skillful professor, who tempers every exercise to the condition of the little ono. Sometimes when he fastens the straps of the tricycle. the child utters quick cry, and oftentimes must be lifted off the machine, being too tender to endure the exercise for that day.
 There arc the bars for paralytics at one end, where the child seats herself and with her hands on the opposite bar works herself with a swinging motion back and forth. This is to try to bring life back into the withered muscles, and after weeks of practice it some times succeeds.
 After play hour comes the hard part of the day, when the little ones gather in their wards, each in his or her own little chair, and wait for the surgeon to come and band l S1l,o and it is with fearful faces and many a sigh that they wait the coming of the house doctor.
 The nurses go from one to the other, loosen ing braces and straps and unwrapping band ages, and then with a quick step and business like air, albeit with kindly touch in his skillful fingers, the surgeon comes in and be- gins his work. And then there are pallid cheeks and lips, clenched fingers and brave struggles to hold back the cries that seem as if they would come out, and there are tears and means from the little ones, whose baby hearts cannot understand the suffering they have come into.
 WAITING FOR BREAD AND MILK.
 After an hour or so he finishes, the last bandage is fastened, the last brace firmly set in place and the last strap buckled down, and then the children move about a little while, putting away the doctors utensils, picking up the scraps he has left and getting the room ready for their evening meal. They take their chairs again and, placing them in row, one directly behind tho other, sit down to wait until the waitress brings in their bowls of milk and heaping trays of bread.
 i The ward is divided into two sections, with double row of tables in each. The children | are stretched out in two rows in the rear of the tables. At the tap of the nurses bell, the first row rises and proceeds in an orderly manner up the side of the table till each child is opposite her place. They go pushing their chairs ill front of them, for but few of the little ones could walk without this support. When these were all in places the nurse
 ed the bell again as signal to those in There was rush of wheels and a sftri11, scfaping sound. And 5len the bell tapped again, and instantly eacl tiny hand was folded and each head bowed, and tn low, reverent voices these words sounded | through the room:
 <tO,,r booyo Fatha,. thank tboa for